Bhashya
श्वेतकेतुर्ह वा आरुणेय इत्यस्य संबन्धः ।खिलाधिकारोऽयम् ; तत्र यदनुक्तं तदुच्यते ।सप्तमाध्यायान्ते ज्ञानकर्मसमुच्चयकारिणा अग्नेर्मार्गयाचनं कृतम्- अग्ने नय सुपथेति ।तत्र अनेकेषां पथां सद्भावः मन्त्रेण सामर्थ्यात्प्रदर्शितः, सुपथेति विशेषणात् ।पन्थानश्च कृतविपाकप्रतिपत्तिमार्गाः ; वक्ष्यति च ' यत्कृत्वा ' इत्यादि ।तत्र च कति कर्मविपाकप्रतिपत्तिमार्गा इति सर्वसंसारगत्युपसंहारार्थोऽयमारम्भः- एतावती हि संसारगतिः, एतावान् कर्मणो विपाकः स्वाभाविकस्य शास्त्रीयस्य च सविज्ञानस्येति ।यद्यपि ' द्वया ह प्राजापत्याः ' इत्यत्र स्वाभाविकः पाप्मा सूचितः, न च तस्येदं कार्यमिति विपाकः प्रदर्शितः ; शास्त्रीयस्यैव तु विपाकः प्रदर्शितः त्र्यन्नात्मप्रतिपत्त्यन्तेन, ब्रह्मविद्यारम्भे तद्वैराग्यस्य विवक्षितत्वात् ।तत्रापि केवलेन कर्मणा पितृलोकः, विद्यया विद्यासंयुक्तेन च कर्मणा देवलोक इत्युक्तम् ।तत्र केन मार्गेण पितृलोकं प्रतिपद्यते, केन वा देवलोकमिति नोक्तम् ।तच्च इह खिलप्रकरणे अशेषतो वक्तव्यमित्यत आरभ्यते ।अन्ते च सर्वोपसंहारः शास्त्र-
In plain words
'Śvetaketu, son of Aruṇa' — that's the thread connecting this passage to what came before. This is a supplement: what was left unsaid earlier is said now. At the end of the seventh chapter, someone combining knowledge with ritual action asked Agni to show the way — 'Agni, lead us by a good path.' The word 'good' already implies there's more than one path out there; the mantra says so on its own strength. Those paths are the routes by which the fruit of past action gets claimed — and the text will soon ask, 'having done what.' How many such routes are there? This whole section exists to answer exactly that, by summing up the entire course of samsara: this much is the shape of transmigration, this much is what action ripens into — both action done by nature and action done under scripture, together with whatever knowledge goes with it. Earlier, in the passage 'two kinds of Prajapati's offspring,' the natural evil in us was pointed to, but nothing was said about what specifically it ripens into. What is shown is only the fruit of scriptural action — running all the way to reaching the self made of three fires — because at the start of the teaching about brahman, the point is to make you weary of that very fruit. It was also said there that action alone leads to the world of the fathers, and action joined with knowledge leads to the world of the gods. But by which path one reaches the fathers, or by which one reaches the gods, was never said. That is exactly what this supplementary section sets out to say in full. And at the end comes a complete summation of the whole teaching —
Close to the Sanskrit
'Śvetaketu, indeed, son of Aruṇa' — this is the connection of this passage to what precedes. This is a supplementary topic; there, what was left unsaid is now stated. At the end of the seventh chapter, by one who combines knowledge and ritual action, a request for a path was made to Agni — 'O Agni, lead us by a good path.' There, the existence of many paths was shown by the power of the mantra itself, from the qualifying word 'good.' And the paths are the routes of attaining the fruition of actions performed; and he will state further, 'having done what,' and so on. There, the question 'how many are the routes of attaining the fruition of action' — for the purpose of a complete summation of the whole course of transmigration, this undertaking begins: 'this much indeed is the course of transmigration, this much is the fruition of action,' of both the natural and the scriptural, together with its knowledge-component. Although, in the passage 'two, indeed, are the descendants of Prajāpati,' the natural evil is indicated, the fruition — that 'this is its effect' — is not shown there; rather, the fruition of only the scriptural action is shown, ending with the attainment of the threefold-food self, because at the commencement of the knowledge of brahman, dispassion for that worldly fruit is what is meant to be conveyed. There too it has been stated that by ritual action alone one attains the world of the fathers, and by action combined with knowledge one attains the world of the gods. There, by which path one attains the world of the fathers, or by which the world of the gods, was not stated. And that is to be explained exhaustively here in this supplementary section — hence this undertaking begins. And at the end, a complete summation of the whole teaching —